ASHLAND — Ashland officials are still aglow a week after the city’s Christmas parade, tree lighting and fireworks display, but planning for next year’s event has already started.
“The goal is Macy’s. We want to be as close to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as possible,” said Sandra Tunnell, Ashland Main Street director and a parade organizer.
Tunnell said discussions surrounding next year’s event have already informally started. She hopes to get a formal meeting scheduled before the end of the year to talk about tweaks for 2022. Planning for the next one starts in earnest in the spring, she said.
But that doesn’t mean the Dec. 4 event was void of glowing reviews.
“There’s a lot of other cities out there, even bigger than Ashland, that — they don’t do Christmas quite like here in Ashland,” said Benjamin Bowman, an Ashland resident, during the public comments section of Ashland City Council’s meeting on Tuesday.
Diane Nelson, also an Ashland resident, thanked Mayor Matt Miller personally for the work he did to organize the parade and the rest of the event.
“That was the nicest one I’ve ever been to,” Nelson said of the parade.
Miller said the parade attracted one of the biggest crowds to Ashland he’s ever experienced.
“It was truly amazing that so many people were downtown and in such good spirits,” Miller said, adding he has already spoken with the city’s police and fire chiefs, along with the streets director, about how to adapt the event as more and more people come to the event each year.
“We want to make it a nonstop parade, where all the units are equally spaced, and that it never stops for a single performance or particular unit,” he said.
In years prior, parade participation was capped at 100 floats instead of this year’s 75 — a logistical detail that meant the parade lasted too long.
“People were frozen. By the time it was ready for the tree lighting, people had left because they were too cold to stand outside anymore,” he said. “So we learned from that and reduced the number of units.
This year’s parade drew 70 floats.
But even this year’s parade lasted longer than comfort levels for some, he said. Next year, Miller said, perhaps the parade starts at 5:45 p.m. instead of 6.
“It was a bit jerky, timing wise,” Tunnell said. “We want to improve the flow. We want the experience to be seamless, that’s our number one thing.”
Tunnell said the planning committee will also focus on making sure crowds remain safe and that there are plenty of places to see the parade. Another item to improve upon is getting additional volunteers for the day of the parade.
Overall, Tunnell said she was proud with the parade.
“I thought it was amazing. I was in awe with how many people were here,” she said. “Oh, and the work, time and energy that people put into their parade entries — that was amazing.”
The parade’s theme was “My Favorite Christmas Song.” Entries were judged by a panel based on relation to the theme, overall appearance and creativity.
Below are the winners.
Commercial division:
1. Nardo’s Landscaping Solutions LLC
2. Mc.B Paving and Sealcoating
3. New Life Community Church
Non-commercial division:
1. Ashland City Schools
2. Ashland Worship Center/Shop with a Cop
3. Coffy Family
Best of Theme:
Hands of Grace Services LLC (commercial)
Ashland University Cheer and Dance (non-commercial)
